Analysis of firm-level computer investments: a comparative study ofthree Pacific-rim economies

The impact of information technology (IT) on firm level productivity has been a subject of considerable research. Although a number of empirical studies have been reported, results are far from conclusive. Almost all of these studies are based on secondary data collected in the United States, which makes it impossible to compare productivity impacts under different economic and demographic settings. It remains unclear whether empirical findings obtained from US firms are also applicable to firms residing in other parts of the world. To answer this question, an empirical study was conducted to assess the impact of IT investment in firms operating in three economies (Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia) in the Pacific Rim from 1983 to 1991. Our results indicate that while still small as a percentage of total capital compared with the United States, computer capital stock increased substantially in all economies during the period. Our production function estimates suggest that there are positive and excess returns in one of the three economies. Results of the analysis provide the basis to address issues such as national IT policy and the effect of economic dynamics on IT adoption     

IT Capital Accumulation and Productivity Growth in Public Accounting Firms

In this study, we apply the tripartite decomposition of productivity growth proposed by Kumar and Russell (Amer. Econ. Rev., vol. 92, pp. 527–548, 2002) to estimate and evaluate the contribution of firms’ IT capital accumulation to their productivity growth. Analyzing a panel data on 52 public accounting firms in Taiwan for ten years from 1993 to 2002, our results indicate that the productivity growth of these accounting firms was primarily due to their accumulation of IT capital. In addition, our results indicate that services diversification towards nonaudit services and workforce quality contributed to accounting firms’ IT capital accumulation, which, in turn, led to their productivity growth.      

Determinants of Corporate R&D Investment: An Empirical Study Comparing Korea's IT Industry with Its Non‐IT Industry

In our study, we extracted the market, finance, and government factors determining R&D investment of individual firms in the IT industry in Korea. We collected the financial data of 515 individual firms belonging to IT and non‐IT industries between 1980 and 1999 from the Korea Investors Service's database and investigated the empirical relationship between the factors using an ordinary regression model, a fixed effects model, and a random effects model. The main findings of our study are as follows: i) The Herfindahl Index variable representing the degree of market concentration is statistically insignificant in explaining R&D expenditures in the IT manufacturing industry. ii) Assets, which is used as a proxy variable for firm size, have a positive and statistically significant coefficient. These two results suggest that the Schumpeterian Hypothesis may be only partially applied to the IT manufacturing industry in Korea. iii) The dividend variable has a negative value and is statistically significant, indicating that a tendency of high dividends can restrict the internal cash flow for R&D investment. iv) The sales variable representing growth potential shows a positive coefficient. v) The subsidy as a proxy variable for governmental R&D promotion policies is positively correlated with R&D expenditure. This suggests that government policy has played a significant role in promoting R&D activities of IT firms in Korea since 1980. vi) Using a dummy variable, we verified that firms reduced their R&D investments to secure sufficient liquidity under the restructuring pressure during Korea's 1998 and 1999 economic crisis.     

IT839 Strategy: the Korean challenge toward a ubiquitous world

The South Korean government declared the IT839 Strategy as a new development strategy for the IT sector in 2004. Under this strategy, the introduction and development of eight (8) new IT services are expected to encourage investment in three (3) key network infrastructures, which in turn will promote the development of nine (9) new growth engines, including equipment, terminal, software, contents, and so on. Moreover, each of the 20 (8 + 3 + 9) sectors of the IT839 Strategy will reap synergistic effects as a result of concurrent growth through cooperation among the government, private sector, and research institutes. The IT839 Strategy is anchored on the belief that IT will bring about qualitative changes in the economic and social paradigm, ultimately aiming to realize a ubiquitous world by forming a virtual circle of developing new services, infrastructures, and growth engines.     

Factors Influencing Strategic Use of Information Technology and Its Impact on Business Performance of SMEs

In this paper, we study the relationship between factors influencing the strategic use of IT and business performance by conducting a survey of small and medium‐size enterprises (SMEs). From the results of our survey we came to several conclusions which are presented here. First, IT investment has a significant impact on the strategic use of IT, and the strategic use of IT has a significant impact on business performance. Second, SME investment in IT and strategic use of IT are influenced by both the intensity of competition in the market environment and partnership with other organizations. Third, the support from the management group in SMEs is a core factor for IT investment and strategic use of IT. Finally, for SMEs to use IT strategically and successfully, it is necessary to combine members' participation with a flexible organizational structure and culture.     

Effects of Institutional Pressures on Information Technology Investments: An Empirical Investigation

Information technology (IT) investments account for a significant proportion of capital budgets of most firms today. While research attention so far has been focused on if and how firms benefit from these investments, limited attention has been paid to understand what determines the IT investment levels of firms. In this study, we examine the effects of institutional pressures and firm characteristics on the IT investment levels of a firm after controlling the financial conditions of the firm. Using available data from secondary sources, we find that the IT investment intensity of a firm is positively associated with that of its competitors, suppliers, and customers. We also find that the degree of institutional shareholding is positively associated with its IT investment intensity. Our results shed light on the motives and drivers of IT investment decisions by highlighting that these decisions are influenced by both economic considerations and legitimacy considerations such as conforming to institutional norms.     

Dimensions of national culture and corporate adoption of ITinfrastructure

Corporate adoption of information technology (IT) infrastructure is a critical management issue that may be affected by national culture. Prior research has shown that dimensions of national culture affect development of national IT infrastructure as well as adoption and impact of IT applications. This study explores the impact of two dimensions of national culture (uncertainty avoidance and power distance) on the adoption of a type of IT infrastructure (frame relay). A multinational survey was carried out, and it yielded useable responses from 153 businesses from 24 countries. The results demonstrated that businesses from higher uncertainty avoidance countries were less likely to adopt frame relay. A one-point increase in Hofstede's uncertainty avoidance index for the country of incorporation was associated with a 3% lower likelihood of adopting frame relay. Power distance was not significantly correlated with adoption of frame relay. These results highlight the relevance of dimensions of national culture as factors affecting corporate adoption of IT infrastructure. Implications for practice and further research are presented     

The return on R&D versus capital expenditures in pharmaceutical and chemical industries

The impact of research and development (R&D) on firm performance is generally agreed to be positive, but the nature and extent of this impact share little agreement in the previous research. Using an improved, time series, cross-sectional regression model that accounts for both contemporaneous and firm-specific serial correlation, as well as the feedback between firm profitability and investments, our study compares the rate of return from a dollar investment on R&D to a dollar investment on fixed assets in pharmaceutical and chemical industries. We find positive associations of R&D intensity and all variables of firm performance (net margin, operating margin, sales growth, and market value). We find that an investment in R&D earns an operating margin return much higher than the industry cost of capital. We also find that the effect of an investment in R&D on the firm's market value is about twice as much the effect of an investment in fixed assets. These findings have implications for corporate investment strategies, indicating that additional R&D investment is more likely to provide a firm with a unique and sustainable competitive advantage.     

The importance of situating culture in cross-cultural IT management

An approach to understanding cross-cultural information technology (IT) management issues that focuses on the implicit aspects of culture is described and applied. It is based upon a theoretical framework called situating culture which acknowledges that cultural understanding is locally situated, grounded in actual behaviors, and embedded in everyday, socially negotiated work practices. To show how this theoretical framework can be used in cross-cultural IT management, it is applied to an examination of the interplay among multiple contextual influences-the national cultures of the host and home countries, the IT industry culture, and the organizational culture of a particular firm-in examples of the cross-cultural IT workplace drawn from the published literature. Management implications of applying the situating culture approach in the cross-cultural IT workplace are then provided.     

2005年全球ICT回顾

以美国、欧洲、亚太主要国家，以及一些国家组织为例，介绍了全球继21世纪初IT业泡沫破灭后．ICT在全球范围内的恢复情况。认为，在全球范围内，尤其是在一些发达国家和新兴国家，ICT的发展已经走出低谷，在市场、生产、投资、贸易、就业等方面，都得到了一定程度的恢复，且仍然为整个经济的发展发挥着重要作用。但离泡沫时期的水平还相距甚远，且那样的辉煌岁月可能一去不复返了。考虑到ICT未来的发展情况，关注各国的相关政策是很有必要的。     

信息技术服务运维支撑平台的设计与实现

设计并实现了基于成都市电子政务网的信息技术服务运维支撑平台,包括服务质量评价系统和运维服务交付系统.该平台符合国家信息技术服务标准,对电子政务网的服务外包企业进行服务交付过程监督和服务质量评价,有效地提升电子政务网对外提供服务的水平和能力,也为标准验证与试点提供技术载体.     

Antecedents and Consequences of Information Systems Planning Integration

Successful utilization of the firm's information technology (IT) investments continues to be a difficult but important task for senior business and information systems managers. This paper focuses on one potentially important determinant of IT investment outcomes-integration of business and IT planning. Integration is examined using three kinds of participation: business managers' participation in IT planning, IT managers' participation in business planning, and top managers' participation in IT resource allocation. Based on considerations of knowledge sharing and commitment, a theoretical model linking these three aspects to three potential consequences-quality of IT plans, IT project problems, and IT-based organization performance-and two antecedents-top managers' perception of IT importance and environmental heterogeneity-is developed. The model is tested using data collected through a survey of 274 chief information officer (CIO) respondents. Results of structural equation modeling analysis support 12 of the 15 hypotheses. Surprisingly, top managers' participation in resource allocation had a stronger association with IT-based organizational performance than either quality of IT plans or the absence of IT project problems. This implies that the role of IT planning and alignment might be weakened when investments reflect top managements' selection. Implications of the study for practice and future research are examined.     

Domain-specific innovativeness and new product adoption: A case of wearable devices

Wearable technology has recently started gaining mass market attention, but the actual adoption of the technology is not up to expectations. The current study examines the effects of consumers’ domain-specific innovativeness (DSI) on the adoption of wearable technology. In this study, consumer DSI is first conceptualized to have two dimensions namely, product-possessing innovativeness (PPI) and information-possessing innovativeness (IPI). The effects of PPI and IPI on perceived attributes of wearable technology (relative advantage, social image, aesthetics, and novelty) are then examined, which influence purchase intention. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on a survey data from young consumers. Structural equation modeling was employed to evaluate the proposed research model. Results demonstrate that 1) the DSI construct must be examined in the two dimensions so that it can properly measure the nature and characteristics of DSI, 2) IPI plays an important role, having a positive effect on all four perceived attributes of IT innovations, 3) PPI has a positive effect on perceived social image and perceived novelty, and finally 4) all perceived attributes of IT innovations have a positive effect on consumers’ purchase intention of wearable devices. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Assessment on IT-based Technical Innovation of the Subordinate Company of the Corporation

Information technology （IT） is one of the most important means by which companies can win an advantaged position in drastically competed market. It has a positive effect on the advancement of the corporation＇s technical innovation. The application of IT can promote the communication among subordinates of a corporation or group, reduce explicit boundaries of the subordinates, and boost the ripple effect of technical innovation of the subordinates. Not only does any subordinate company within a corporation need to assess both technical and economic benefits brought to the corporation itself by technical innovation, but also it should thoroughly analyze how the ripple effect of technical innovation among subordinate companies plays a significant role in the boosting value of the corporation as a whole. In this paper, a scientific approach to assessing technical innovation of a subordinate company is proposed through analyzing the ripple effect of IT-based technical innovation on subordinate companies.     

对宽带的再认识

文章从宽带发展的现状、内涵、作用及前景4个方面,对当今宽带进行了再认识。文章认为宽带不仅是推进信息化、持续发展经济社会的重要基础设施,而且是在网络空间中维护国家主权和安全的坚实后盾;宽带还能够提高整个经济领域的生产率和效率,从而拉动GDP的发展;宽带是实现未来可持续发展目标(SDG)的基本技术。文章还指出中国的宽带的建设,需要注入更多的投资,并在政府的带领下落实各种政策,才有可能更好地发挥宽带的巨大作用。     

规划领航，推进轨道交通信息化

结合上海轨道交通信息化建设的实际,采用信息化规划的策略,以解决信息系统建设中的信息孤岛、互联互通、重复建设等妨碍信息化建设可持续发展的瓶颈问题,并提出信息化规划落地的若干措施,进一步在更高层面上提高信息化业务互联互通、协同工作能力,适应组织的管理需求,保护信息化的有效投资和应用系统的可持续发展：     

The effect of hard and soft information and communication technologies investment on manufacturing business performance in Greece – A preliminary econometric study

This paper presents the results of the first empirical investigation of the effect of information and communication technologies (ICT) investment on business performance in Greece. It investigates the effect of both ‘hard’ ICT investment (in ICT hardware, software and networks) and ‘soft’ ICT investment (in ICT human resources, skills and organization) on firm output. It is based on data from big Greek industrial firms, which have been collected via a questionnaire-based survey conducted in cooperation with the Federation of Greek Industries (FGI). Using these data, econometric models of output have been constructed based on the microeconomic production theory. Our analysis shows that the Cobb–Douglas production function can adequately describe the output, as compared to the more general transcendental production function. Using this type of production function it has been found that hard ICT investment in Greece makes a positive and statistically significant contribution to firm output; however its output elasticity is lower than the one of the non-computer capital and much lower than the one of the labour. Also, from the dimensions-measures of the soft ICT investment we examined, it has been found that the existence of a separate ICT department has a positive and statistically significant effect on firm output, which is of considerable magnitude of about two thirds of the effect of the hard ICT investment. The possibility of an effect of firm size on the structural stability of the econometric models we employed was also investigated; it was found that for firms with total sales above about €20 million the structure of the models is reasonably stable, and therefore the conclusions drawn from them are valid, at least for the range of firm sizes that our data cover.     

Empirical analysis of strategy selection for the technology leading and technology catch-up in the IT industry

R&D strategies of companies with low and high technological levels are discussed based on the concept of technology convergence and divergence. However, empirically detecting enterprise technology convergence in the distribution of enterprise technology (total productivity increase) over time and identifying key change factors are challenging. This study used a novel statistical indicator that captures the internal technology distribution change with a single number to clearly measure the technology distribution peak as a change in critical bandwidth for enterprise technology convergence and presented it as evidence of each technology convergence or divergence. Furthermore, this study applied the quantitative technology convergence identification method. Technology convergence appeared from the separation of total corporate productivity distribution of 69 IT companies in Korea in 2019–2020 rather than in 2015–2016. Results indicated that when the total technological level was separated from the technology leading and technology catch-up, IT companies were found to be pursuing R&D strategies for technology catch-up.     

Information technology in Kenya: A dynamic approach

Though Africa may still be the least-computerized continent, information technology (IT) penetration is increasing rapidly. However, IT is an imported technology and it is not culturally neutral. This article has two aims: (a) to provide a framework to understand how IT and culture interact, and (b) to illustrate this interaction with examples from Kenyan case studies. Culture is used as a “diagnostic” instrument and focuses entirely on Kenya's national context. The framework analytically distinguishes three ways of interference: culture influences IT, culture is influenced by IT, and culture provides the conditions to interpret IT's utility. The simultaneous interplay between the three levels results in IT practice. Through the study of IT practice in three cases, aspects of Kenyan cultural context are revealed and analyzed according to the proposed reference frame.     

IT供应链安全风险管理标准研究

阐述了ISO 28000、ISO/IEC 27036等IT供应链安全相关标准的进展,分析了美国现行的IT供应链安全风险管理措施,进一步明确了我国IT供应链安全风险管理标准定位,对制定我国IT供应链安全标准提出了建议。